Originally Posted by
LapLap
That’s interesting that this has become the format.
Right by Shimokitazawa station (near Shibuya in Tokyo) is a kind of proto version called “Stockmart”. Very small in comparison, but handy as a convenience.
I have no idea if it is an exception in Tokyo or if there are others, but it’s a way to pick up Costco items without having to commit to Costco quantity. I understand that the rotisserie chicken is very popular at Stockmart.
I just did a little online research and discovered that there are numerous Costco resellers around Japan and apparently "Stockmart" is one of them and "Minicos" may be one too. In other words, these shops buy directly from Costco and resell Costco products in their shops (and sometimes non-Costco products too), but Costco has no ownership stake in these resellers. Costco allows anyone to resell their products. Also, these resellers have no membership fees like Costco, so anyone can buy. The links below explain this.
https://soranews24.com/2022/04/14/it...k-alike-store/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Kyoto/comme...led/?rdt=40059